Thursday, February 21, 2013

HBI is pleased to hear that
Board Member, Jay Wickersham has been appointed as Adjunct Associate Professor
of Architecture, effective 1 January 2013. Wickersham has previously
served as a Lecturer in Architecture at the GSD, teaching courses in
architectural practice and ethics, the history of architectural practice,
international design practice, and planning and environmental law.

Wickersham has worked in all
aspects of design, planning, and development as an architect, an urban
designer, a lawyer, and an environmental regulator. In his practice and his
teaching, Wickersham focuses on the legal implications of contemporary forces shaping
architectural practice and environmental regulation. He is a graduate of Yale
University, Harvard GSD, and Harvard Law School, and has been elected as a
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

A founding partner in the law
firm Noble & Wickersham LLP, in Cambridge, MA, Wickersham represents over
200 architectural and design firms practicing around the country and
world-wide. He specializes in shaping the legal and business relationships
among complex design teams, managing risk and protecting intellectual property,
and addressing the legal and business implications of sustainable design,
integrated project delivery, and building information modeling.

Wickersham also specializes
in environmental regulations affecting renewable energy and sustainable
development. From 1998 to 2002 Wickersham served as Assistant Environment
Secretary for Massachusetts and directed the statewide environmental impact
review program. Recent and current projects include representing wind
farms, developing state regulations for smart growth and affordable housing
development, and rezoning of the downtown Boston waterfront. Wickersham
successfully advocated to preserve the Ames Shovel Works in North Easton, MA,
listed by the National Trust as one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in
the country.

Wickersham has written on
design and planning issues for general and professional journals, including the
Harvard Design Magazine, Perspecta, New England Quarterly,
and the Harvard Environmental Law Review. His current research includes
a biography of Charles Bulfinch; a study of the architect-client relationship
between H.H. Richardson and the Ames family; and the historical evolution of
professional ethical codes.

HBI
would like to congratulate Jay Wickersham on this great achievement!

Friday, February 15, 2013

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (February 11, 2013) ‒ Boston's Church of the
Covenant at Newbury and Berkeley Streets in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood has
been named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior,
Ken Salazar. The public is invited to join representatives of the National
Park Service for a presentation ceremony at the church on Sunday, February 24
at noon, followed by a reception.

Fewer than 2,600 places nationwide, and only seven other
churches in Boston, bear this distinction. The National Historic Landmark
program, begun in 1935 and administered by the National Park Service,
recognizes nationally significant historic places that possess exceptional
value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United
States.

The Gothic Revival church, designed by architect Richard M.
Upjohn and completed in 1867, is recognized as having the largest interior designed
by the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company. Completed
in 1894-96, the comprehensive decoration includes 42 large stained glass
windows, Byzantine-style mosaics, complex trompe l’oeil painted decoration,
elaborate wood traceries and furnishings, and a massive illuminated art glass
lantern that was displayed at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

The Shirley-Eustis House Announces Lecture on
Thursday, February 21, 2012

“On the Road to Boston: Remembering Historic
Structures in Roxbury”

BOSTON,
Mass. – The Shirley-Eustis House, a National Historic Landmark house museum and
carriage house at 33 Shirley Street in Boston, Massachusetts announces a
lecture to be held at Shirley Place Mansion on Thursday, February 21, 2012 at
6:00 p.m.

Gillian
Lang of Historic Boston Incorporated (HBI) will explore the plot of land at the
corner of Washington Street and Eustis Street. This small patch offers a
fascinating vantage point from which to view the history of Roxbury and it’s
progression from Colonial outpost to an industrialized sub-sect of
Boston. Ms. Lang will examine the structures that have inhabited the
southern-most corner of the plot including the Eustis Street Fire Station.
The evolution of these buildings mirrors the larger changes that were taking
place in the 17th- and 18th-centuries.

HBI
is a historic preservation organization located in Dudley Square in Roxbury,
where they inhabit Roxbury’s oldest fire house on Eustis Street. Historic
Boston Incorporated redevelops historic properties to make urban neighborhoods
thrive by reusing old places to meet current needs – which enriches our
communities and restores neighborhood pride.

This
lecture is free and open to the public. A $5.00 donation is
suggested. Refreshments will be served following the discussion. To
reserve your seat, please call 617-442-2275 or email governorshirley@gmail.com.

The
Shirley-Eustis House, built by Massachusetts Royal Governor William Shirley in
1747 and later the home of Democratic-Republican Governor William Eustis in
1819 is located on 33 Shirley Street in Boston, Massachusetts.

Monday, February 11, 2013

In previous blog posts we discussed the
IRS’s decision to deny the allocation of federal historic tax credits to the
corporate member of a redevelopment project partnership associated with the
rehabilitation of the Historic Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey. In United States Tax Court the partnership
(HBH) subsequently challenged the IRS’s decision to deny the corporate member
true partnership status and reallocate the credits. After initially winning its case, but later losing on appeal
before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, HBH filed a petition asking the
Third Circuit to rehear the case. The
Third Circuit denied this petition, and HBH, intent on having the Third
Circuit’s decision overturned, subsequently filed a petition for review with
the US Supreme Court.